Direction indicator for motor vehicles



Get. 30, 1923.

c. E. MORRIS DIRECTION INDICATOR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8,

A TTORNEYS.

Get. 30,1923. 7 1,4112%6 C. E. MORRIS DIRECTION INDICATOR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed May 8, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 II I; lllllll III!!! I N VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYSJ Patented Get. 30 1 923. I

Toallwkom itmay concern; Be it known that I, CARROLL E.

I cles,

I a precedin tion the driver intends to travel. 55

i automobile for the of California,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFic.

cannon. n somers, cremains, CALIFORNIA.

- mancrron mmcmoa roa MOTOR VEHICLES.

Application filed 1Iay a,

v Momus, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residin at Grimes, in the county of Colu'sa and tate useful Direction Indicator for MotorVehiof which the following 'is a specification. The invention relates to a new, novel and useful improvement 1 in automobile 1 signals of the type adapted tobe placed upon an automobile, for the purpose of indicatingto or following vehicle the direc- The principal object of this invention is Y to produce an automobile signal which may be operated from the steering wheel of an.

purpose .of inanipulating a movable member, which will 'be' visible duringthe day or night to 'a following vehicle.

Another object is to produce a'mechanis m,

which Will be positive in operation and one which maybe readily applied to any stand-' ard machine.

Another object is to produce a signal.

which will remain in ,a fixed position until I released.

' fastened thereto,

' part of the fender 5; .A casing-6 covers the Other objects and advantages will be seen as the description proceeds.

v In the accompanying drawings:- Fig. I 'is an elevation.

-vice. is the gear'wheel- 12 mounted on the shaft 16 and' rotatedby means of the pimon 13 rigidly secured to the shaftof the motor The shaft 16 also carries, rigidly the arm 7, having at one end a hand 8 and at the other end a; counterweight 11 fastened thereto, and is shown in the drawing as mounted in any gear wheel 12, and gives further support to its shaft 16, as shown in Figure 3; Y The arm 7 with the hand 8 thereon norhave invented a new and" dicated in Figure'l,

secured to the ;notedthat each lever 1920. Serial m5. 379,852.

mally hangs in a vertical position, its weight outbalancing the counterweight 11. To indicate a stop, a turn to the left or a turn to theright, one of the three different positions inthat is, slanting down ward, horizontal, slantin upward, by causing the motor to rotate t ie-gear wheel until I swing thearm into those respective stations are reached. At

each

lever 18, which, gust clears'the geai' wheel y held slanting, however,

when horizontal, 12. It is normal by means of a s lever further rom the gear Wheel and allows it to even clear the latch 17 rigidly gear wheel 12 and extending a short distance beyond its circumference.

Thus it willbe seen that normally none of the levers 18 would interfere with the rotation of the gear wheel 18 is adapted to be acted on' by an electromagnet 19, which,

when energized, will force the lever into a horizontal position against the tension of the spring 23-. When in this'position the leverpcloses a circuit at 21 (Figure 3) and is also ready to' oppose any advance of the latch 17 beyond its station. The device will then lend itself to the following'operation, always keeping in mind that each of the three stations is equipped-with the lever 18, the electromagnet 19 and the switch 21:

First one of energized by a pressure on one of three switch buttons,

hereinafter described, 011 the steering wheel. The electromagnet'attracts its ever bar 18, forcing the same. into a horizontal position, the circuit at 21 and obstructing an advance of the latch 17 beyond its station. The closing of the circuit sets in motion the motor. 14 and with it the. gear wheel. 12.

The latter Will rotate,'carr'y'ing with it the loo arm 7 until the latch 17 strikes the one horizontally disposed ,lever bar.18. It will be seen from Figure 5, that the striking part of the latch 17 is a sloping tooth. In striking the lever 18 tooth will force the lever downward, thereby breaking. the circuit at 21 and stop ing the motors It will lie-remembered that this still leaves the electromagnet energized so that it still has the power to the lever bar against the tension of the spring 23. As soon, therefore, as'the lever of these stations there is pivotally 'mounted in the casing a the electromagnets 19 is so r1ng 23, which removes the 70 12. But a will be thereby closing the slopingsurface of the pull down on back by its own weight.

bar passes the point of the tooth of latch 17, which latter is advanced slightly even if the circuit is brokendue to the momentum of the gear wheel, the electromagnet .will force the spring arm of the lever up again, until the same strikes the body of the latch 17, as shown in Figure 5. This position of the lever bar 18 is a medium one as compared with the-horizontal position and the extreme sloping position and inthis position it locks the gear wheel 12 without closing the circuit of 21. From this position it'can be released only by a demagnetizing of the electromagnet, that is,'by a release of the switch on the steering wheel, when the spring 23 will draw the lever bar 18 to its extreme sloping position, in which it clears the latch altogether.

A section through the switch box on the steering wheel is shown in Figure 6. Keeping in mind that each station has its switch, it will be seen, that thebox 24 has three levers 25 pivoting on a shaft secured-near one of the walls of the box, each lever being provided with a contact adapted to close acircuit at 26 and 27. A spring 28 draws up on the lever and from the end of the lever an arm, pivoting on the lever, extends upward through a slot 29 in the top of the switch box. Bearing down on the lever will engage the contact 25- with 26 and 27 and the lip 31is adapted to lock the switch by enga ing the top of the box. Since the cir cult of which this'switch is apart, is .the

one that energizes the elect-romagnet above referred to, it will be seenthat tlledriver can at any time move the indicating arm to any of the three positions by pressing on the switch, and'that the arm will stay in that position, until the switch is released, that is, until the electromagnet has been demagnetized at which time t Since it is desirable, especially at nighttime to have the indicator illuminated, I provide a lamp 41 on the indicating hand, as shown in the wiring diagram of Figure 4, one wire of which leads to the main circuit and the other to the contact 40. Three.contacts 39 are provided on the top of the casing 6 so that each time the'indicator stopsat one of the stations the circuit is closed. In a similar waythethree lamps A on the dash-board are included in the cir cuit.

The wiring diagram in Figure 4 shows the wiring necessary for my evice, only one comp ete c1rcu1t being represented. B is the switch on the steering wheel, C thebattery and D the motor. Pressing the 1e arm will drop tromagnet hasclosed the circuit 'at 21 the main currentwill flow as follows: from the battery C throughthe wire 36, the contact at-2l, the wire 37, the motor D, the wire 38, back to the battery C. As soon as the contact is broken at 21the full current will return to its'path throughthe electromagnet as first described.

I claim:

1. In a direction indicator, a motor having a pinion thereon, a, motor circuit, a pivoted indicating signal normally hanging down having a gear wheel associated therewith engaging the pinion, a latch member on the gear wheel and 'a switch in the motor circuit including a' lever extending with its rear end into the path of the latch member, the latter having an-inclined face for depressing the lever while passing the same wherebythe switch is opened.

.2. In a direction indicator, a pivoted indicating signal normally hanging down having agear wheel associated therewith for operating'the'same, a'motor having a pinion thereon engaging the gear wheel, a motor circuit, a latch member on the gear wheel, a switch in the motor circuit, including a lever extendin with its rear end into the path of the'latc member, a manually controlled electromagnet 'for closing the switch and an inclined tooth on the latch member for depressing the lever while passing the same whereby the motor switch .is opened allowing the leverto be returned to a midway position by the ele'ctromagnet after it has passed the tooth and to catch behind the same for preventing the dropping-back of the signal as long as the elec-' -tromagnet rema ns energlzed.

3..-In a directioniridicator, api voted indicatini signal normally hanging down, a

motor for swinging the same in an active position, a lever switch for thevmotor circuit, a manually controlled electromagnet for closing the switch and means associated with the signal" for opening theswitch when an active position has been reached allow-.

ing the switch lever to be returnedthereafter to] a midway position by the electromagnet and to catch behind said "means for preventing the dropping back of the signal as long as the electromagnet remains energized. I

CARROLL E. MORRIS. 

